Artistic Endeavor
by cheddarbiscuit
Summary: "Wait... You don't get turned on by being drawn, do you?" Meta-Morphine's cannon. Sister fic to Playlist.


cheddarbiscuit presents:

Artistic Endeavor

Summary: "Wait... You don't get turned _on_ by being drawn, do you?" Meta-Morphine's cannon, sister fic to Playlist.

Disclaimer: Do no own. Otherwise, ZaGr would be cannon. And we would have a Bollywood Musical, which I already sort of have planned out. Because I love Zim, and I love Bollywood.

**Notes: this takes place during the break between chapters twelve and thriteen in Meta-Morphine. I know how awkward it is to stumble on a fic that is a continuation of another one so that is why this warning is in big, bold letters.**

**If this is the second time you have stumbled across this message and have no clue what it means, I recommend you actually **_**read **_**Meta-Morphine.**

But, its mostly fluff and smut and fluffy smut and role-play in the hologram room. And a plot. Oh, and a study of Irken anatomy. And... Um... Me... being me, and if that's not bad enough it's ZaGr!

It will, hopefully, be updated with its sister-fic, Playlist, but it plays second fiddle to Meta-Morphine, so updates will be few and far between.

* * *

Chapter one:

Zim did not say a word about it, but he could smell blood. Dib's blood. He parked the car and got out with Gaz, because he was unsure if Dib was still alive or not. _I should not have left Tak alone with him._ Zim cursed himself, _Look what's happened now._ Because Dib might well be torn to pieces in the living room, Zim prepared himself to cover Gaz's eyes, should the need arise. His eyes began exploring every detail of the land aroun him that he could. There were no broken windows, the door was not knocked off its hinges. There were no outside signs of trouble. None at all. But that did not keep him from wondering.

What had happened?

He jumped a little when Gaz opened the door, expecting to see mass destruction, but instead, he only saw Dib, sitting on the couch, his head in his hands and a mug of freezing coffee on the table in front of him. He had no shirt on, and as Zim lookedk towards the closest wall on the room he say that it was smeared with blood. Dib's shirt lay in ribbons by the entrance to the garage. The door was open. Tak's ship was gone. There was a pile of scrap metal at their feet.

The two stood there for a moment, frozen. Even _Dib_ was motionless. Gaz stepped forward a round the pile of scraps, asking softly, "Dib?"

He straited up at once, dropping his hands and looked strait forward, not at them. There were three shallow scratches across his face, and more across his back and shoulders, the kind of light razor-thing scratches that can only be inflicted by an Irken's PAK legs. Zim joined Gaz by the coffee table to inspect Dib's wounds fully. He had not treated them, Zim doubted he would any time soon.

"Tak left." he said. His tone struggled to be indifferent, but Zim and Gaz both could easily see the tremmors in his shoulders and hear the sadness in his voice.

Zim dropped his bag and walked around so he could get a good look at the marks on his back. They had been delivered from the front, as if he had been holding on to Tak and she had been fighting to be released. Zim frowned. She had been trying to run away, he had been trying to make her stay. Jerk.

"Dib—"

"She's _gone_." he exclaimed with such fire they both jumped back. Dib curled up and his shoulders began to shake violently, "And its all my fault."

"What happened?" Zim found himself demanding.

Dib held up his hand so she could see the jagged cut along the inside of his fingers. Zim grimaced and Gaz gasped, taking Dib's hand and examining it. It looked like it had been inflicted by a bread knife, but it was not a casual swipe, it was a deliberate cut. Dib had been _holding _the blade when it had sliced his skin.

"So, you fought?" Gaz glared at Zim as she asked that, even though her voice was caring. He found himself stepping back. He could read her thoughts. Her anger was all over her face, _An Invader keeps their word, huh? If I ever see that lying tramp again, I'll kill her_.

Dib shook his head, "I don't want to talk"

"Then why the _hell_ are you just sitting here moping?" Gaz demanded.

"Why aren't you trying to aplogise?"

"I'll just make a dick of myself agian!"

"Well maybe you _are_ just a dick!" Gaz exclaimed, tugging on his arm, "Come on, we have to go look for her. Zim, grab a shirt from his room."

Zim started to move, because he knew finding Tak was imperative. Anything could happen too her out there. Anything at all. Mainly horrible things. Of course, he knew if he did not, Tak would probably be fine, she _could_ take care of herself, but if she needed to be brought back, even for a reason so simple as an apology from Dib, she needed to be brought back. Mindful of the cuts, the Irken tried to push the human to his feet, between the two of them, they eventually managed it.

Dib shook his head, "No. No, she is long gone now. Those delivery ships are too fast, we could never catch her." he told them, looking with dull eyes to the coffee. He reached into his back jeans pocket and took out what looked like an old iPhone, "She already over New York."

"You're tracking her?" Gaz demanded, "Dib, that's—"

"Horrible." he said, falling back onto the couch, covering his eyes with his hands, "I know, Gaz, I know."

She looked at Zim, then, a frown on her face. She sank down into the chair, just staring at him. Zim found himself doing the same. Neither one of them had seen Dib so depressed before.

"You both have to agree I've done _worse_ things." he mumbled, staring at the screen.

Zim really wished he could say, 'Dib, don't talk like that,' and let his words have some merit, but he could not. He never could. Instead of trying to sound comforting (he had not actually mastered that yet) he walked away and picked up Dib's torn shirt. There was no a usable scrap left. It was barely suited to be oilrags now. He gathered them up, and realized there was only half of a shirt here. Frowning, he noticed a tail of scraps leading into the garage. He got to his feet again and walked off.

He found GIR sitting in the middle of the garage floor, out of his disguize, staring at the sky, his metal head tilted to one side and his cyan eyes focused on a particular spot, presumably the direction Tak flew off in. To avoid Gaz overhearing him, Zim shut the door before coming to stand beside him, because he knew better than to block his view, and because he woul dnot get much of a reaction if he was standing behind him. He tossed the scraps down and put his hands in his pockets, "GIR? What happened here?"

The cyan SIR unit turned to him, a little frown on his metal mouth. "Tak sent me and Mimi to search for scrapmetal to fix her ship, because she though we might need it. I had already made waffles, but Mimi said waffles would not fix a ship. I think we were gone too long, because she had Dib had fixed the ship when we came back."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, Mimi was wrong! Waffles _did_ fix the ship. They're all gone!"

Zim pursed his lips and ingorned that obvious cognative error, "What was going on when you returned here?"

"He was holdin' her. Reeeeeal tight." GIR hugged himself to demonstrait.

Zim's antenna slanted down, "What?"

"Like they lovers." GIR nodded happily, then his tone changed, "But I don't think she enjoyed it too much. She was scratchin' at him. She told Mimi to get him off of her."

"And?"

"And she _did!_" GIR said as if it were obvious. Zim grinned slightly, well, there was _one_ error GIR did not posess anymore. He understood 'follow orders' completely now. His smile vanished with the next phrase, though, "I think he was tryin' to strangle her."

"What?"

"But he wasn't doin' it right! If she was chokin', she couldn't scream so loud." GIR shook his head, "Then Mimi threw him against the wall, and she was gunna kill 'em, but Tak stopped her."

"Why?"

"'Cause she luv him!" Then his voice changed again, "But she seemed pretty mad when she left."

Zim frowned again. He doubted he would be to happy if he had been placed in Tak's predicament. What _was_ her predicament, exactly? There was no _Irken_ terminology for it, but a human would call it rape, or perhaps sexual assault, but Zim wanted to believe that Dib was not capable of doing something so crude and basic. Perhaps it was honestly just a scuffle. Perhpas it was not. He had not heard anything from Dib and Gaz, and he wanted to avoid having her jump to conclusions about her brother, "GIR, do not tell Gaz about any of this, okay? Go up with her."

"Okie-dokie!"

He picked GIR up and carried him in to the livingroom, where Gaz and Dib had not moved a muscle. When he came in, Gaz got to her feet, an angry frown on her face. "Zim?"

"If he's told you anything—"

"No." She crossed her arms, "He wants to talk to _you_."

"O-oh? A-any explination for that?"

"You're a _guy_." Gaz grumbled sarcasticly, "You're an_ Irken_. I'm a _human and a girl_. Face it, you're better to talk to on any day."

Then she walked away, obviously miffed about a great many things. She snatched up her GameSlave and dissappeared up the stairs with GIR at her heels. Zim sat down in the chair she had once occupied, "What is it?"

"S-she's gone."

Zim resisted the urge to call him Captain Obvious, this was serious. Besides, Dib sounded almost in disbelief, perhaps even shock. And even then, he was capable of voilent outbursts, perhaps the episode a few minutes ago had been the result of one. Certainly, Zim's ribs still hurt from his _last_ fight. He just put on an understanding pokerface and folded his hands.

"What happened?"

"You're sure Gaz can't hear?"

Zim did not answer. It was probably a no, because he could hear her game system's music though the walls. She was probably deaf to the wrold. Instead, he asked again, steady, "What happened?"

Dib stared at the floor, and he was silent for a long while, once, his eyes flickered up to Zim, who remained completely still. He scarely even breathed. It was quite an impressive feat, considering how angry he was at the moment. What had happened while he was away? He had _trusted_ them alone, and _this_ was what he got to show for it? Unnacceptable!

"I won't feed you any lies about blacking out or shit like that."

"Good."

"I just sort of... snapped."

"Snapped?" Zim echoed.

Dib nodded and ran a hand though his hair, "She... she was trying to seduce me, then kill me..."

Zim grimaced, but Dib did not see it. Yeah, she had _said_ she would do something along thoes lines. What ever happened here, Zim knew he was now partially responsible for it. But blame could be laid later. He needed facts right now. Or at least, every point of view he could manage. Tak's side of the story was missing and it would be for a while, unless Zim could open a radio connection with her ship later.

"But... But I didn't _know_ that." he continued, sinking further down, "I was so confused when she tore away from me and pulled a knife on me. She... she said she refused to love me."

He sounded genuinely hurt with the memory. Zim remained silent.

"I tried to talk her out of it, but when I did, she turned the knife on herself, and she said, 'I'm not a whore.'" Dib shuddered, "I couldn't just stand there and watch her kill herself, Zim, I knew I had to stop her. I told her it was all right, that we'd work something out, but she wouldn't listen... We, we fought for a while, not with words, it got... pretty violent and she... She tried to slit my throat. I didn't do much to calm her down, she did that on her own. But she told me she was leaving..."

"... And you tried to force her to remain here?"

"Yes, quite agressively. I just sort of... Grabbed her and held her back."

Zim kept his mouth shut about it, but he knew that was not the entire story. It was not his place to say anything, really. He was just another Irken, that was all. Maybe he was a friend, but Zim doubtled it.

"Gaz is going to go live with you for a while, right?"

"We... discussed it, but if you want her to stay..."

"No." Dib shook his head, "I want her to stay with you. Dad's always at the lab so I don't really think he'll notice, besides, he _likes_ you."

Zim frowned. There was a definite air of jealosy in Dib's voice.

"I just want to be left alone for a little while." he continued. He gave Zim an obviously fake smile, "You know, do some soul searching."

"You're planning on leaving." Zim hissed, leaning forward and breaking his mask, "You want Gaz to stay with me so she won't notice you're packing up!"

"I know where Tak is heading and I'll give her a few days to get settled, but I _will _bring her home, Zim."

"The human saying is home is where the heart is!" Zim shot back, "Her heart does not lie here, and if Tak choses some place other than here, that is fine. I'll be lucky she'll even pick up my _calls_ after what we've done!"

"If you're willing to accept part of the blame, why won't you help me?"

Zim wanted to see Tak to safety, too, but the less she saw of _Dib_ the better. "Because it's wrong!"

Both of them were on their feet now, Zim glaring up at Dib because there was a good six inch difference between the two of them. In the interest of keeping Gaz from hearing them, their voices never rose above a furious whisper.

"Why?" Dib asked, almost spitefully, "Because she's _Irken_?"

"N-no!" Zim said, stepping back, that was part of it, of course, but he was not above lying, "Because she doesn't want you!"

"How do you know?"

Zim looked down and bit his lip, he _did_ know. Tak _had_ confessed feelings for him, but they were unnessicary, confusing and unwanted ones that she was trying to snuff out. He was supposed to help her, and though he had thought about it once or twice during the day, he could not figure out for the life of him how to reverse the emotional effects of the Meta-Metamorphosis Drug, not even on himself, he just knew how to stop the physical progression. Sighing in frustraion, he sat down again, resting his elbows on his knees, lacing his fingers infront of him, his posture slouched. Dib jumped on this physical cue at once.

"You do know, don't you?"

"Yes," Zim confessed, despite himself, "I know her feelings, motives, everything."

"Tell me!"

"Hell no!" Zim stood up again, "You will take every word that I tell you and use it to torment Tak into returning. I could _never_ live with myself if that happened. I could never look Tak in the eye again—"

"Zim, please, you know Tak's place is here—"

"—Tak can make her own choices!"

They still were not yelling. Rather than let the argument continue, Zim turned around and started to walk up to Gaz's room to tell her to pack up.

"You _know_ she is unstable physically and mentally." Dib said. Zim stopped in his tracks. "You don't know what the reverse formula will really do. You know what it will do to labrats, maybe, but you don't know what it will do to an actual Irken. If emotions really are knew to her, Zim, she's out there with no psycological help. She's out there on her own and you don't know what could happen to her mind."

"_That_ is entirely your fault!" Zim shouted turning quickly. Dib jumped slightly and Zim managed to get his temper undercontrol quickly, "No, no, that's not ture. I never should have left you two alone, it is _my_ fault."

"Then—"

"But I left you with Professor Membrane! He left, didn't he? It's not entirely in my hands."

"But you _did_ know she was going to kill me—"

"—She said she was going to wait a week."

"She lied!"

"Thank you, Captain Obvious!" Zim shook his head, "You must have done something to frighten her!"

Dib's eyes averted. Zim gasped, "You didn't come on to her, did you? Take her ques the wrong way and try to take things too fast?"

"I did..."

"My _Tallests!_ You have the instincts of a brick, you know that?"

"What do you mean?"

"'Oh, who cares if she just stabbed me yesterday, maybe she's in a different mood today—'"

"I already _know_ what I did wrong, Zim—"

"But you won't learn will you?"

Dib did not say anything. He glared at Zim for a moment, as if trying and failing to look angry. It was gone soon enough and he sat down again, slouching once more and pushing his glasses up his nose, the anger was gone and he was just depressed again, "I know what I did wrong, Zim, but don't you know how it is? You see her and you can't stop it?"

He was not talking about Tak specifically anymore, he was refering to Gaz, too. Zim frowned. He did know. Honestly, he did. He refrained from saying, 'Well, the difference between you and me is that I won't beat the living hell out of you.' Instead, Zim just crossed his arms and asked, "Where is Tak heading?"

Because he could contact her more easily if he knew her location. He could warn her about the tracking device and Dib's plans, and she could do what ever she liked with the knowledge. He could check up on her though radio contact.

"You won't tell me, why the hell should I tell _you_ anything."

"Fair enough!" Zim replied, "I know your tricks! You know by letting Gaz stay with me, you can accomplish more than keeping her here. One: with me, she won't see you packing up. Two: you're blackmailing me, buttering me up, trying to get the information you want from me by leaving her out. Three: you're betting that I'll watch out for her for you. You don't accept us, you just think I won't stand in your way if you _act_ like you do."

"That's not my intention and you know it! I'm leaving, whether you tell me what Tak feels or not. I saw everything I need to know in her eyes. I heard it in her voice, Zim! But I _do_ want you to take care of Gaz for me, even if you break up..."

Zim resisted the urge to scream, 'Over my dead body!' and he supressed a sudden wave of jealousy. Instead, he just forced out, "Of course. Everyone knows I am more of a gentleman than you are. _I_ certainly won't leave Gaz on her own."

Dispite the guilt trip Zim sucessfuly laid on him, Dib smiled softly, "That's good. Go tell Gaz to pack her things, but I think she might have already."

Zim waited for him to say something else, but when he yieled nothing, he walked up the stairs to Gaz's room. He found her laying on her bed, her knees bent and her ankle crossed over her knee. Fortunately (or, unfortunately, depending) she was wearing jeans that day, not a miniskirt. GIR was perched on the leg parallel to the floor, watching her silently.

"You two done?" she demanded, taking her anger out on a sixteen bit monster.

"Yes." Zim answered, sitting down beside her, laying a hand on her ankle. If she felt any desire, she kept it out of her face, "You're brother wants you to come live with me for a while."

"Oh?" She asked, her eyes only flickering to him for a second before going back to her game, "And what makes him think he knows best?"

"Even I think it is a good idea."

"Well, yeah, you just want me arm's reach at all times."

"And?" He asked, rubbing the fabric of her jeans and wishing it was her skin, "He just wants to be left alone for a little while."

"Zim," she said menacingly, "I'm not in the mood!"

"Okay!" he said, letting go, "Okay! But you _will_ come home with Zim, won't you?"

"I don't see why." she said, "This is my house, too. Well, okay, its _dad's house_, but I own it just as much as Dib, which is not at all."

"True, true."

"And I won't be comfortable at you place, you hate water, Zim, humans bathe in water—"

"Taken care of!"

"What?" she asked suddenly, looking to him. Her character died but she did not even notice, "Zim, how many times have I said you are creepy today? That takes the cake!"

"Don't get me wrong! I was not specifically for _you_, I was just part of the removations I did four years ago to make the house more... normal. The off chance that either one of you needed to stay with me for whatever reason is just an added perk. You know... Hide from police... Pull an all nighter studying... Mainly hide from the police, though. I'm pretty sure my house you be the last place they looked for either one of you, and even if they _did _search my house, which ever one it was would have hidden in the lab."

She did not believe him, even if it _was_ the truth. Sort of. The thought of her just living with him for the sake of it _had_ crossed his mind, of course, but he was not about to tell her that. Not when she was frowing and shrinking away like she was currently.

"Don't give me that look!"

"I'll give you what ever look I want. You're fucking creepy." she shut off her game and sat up so that she could properly glare at him for a moment. Her face relaxed almost at once, though, when she saw how truely lost and sorry he looked for the entire mess, "You _honestly_ think Dib's going to be okay on his own?"

"No." Zim confessed, "But I think it's best to just let him have his way."

"He's planning something, isn't he?" Gaz asked, "What is it?"

"He's... I don't think he wants you to know." Zim lied. She could see right thought it, of course, but she did not say anything about it. She stood up and pushed past him, walking over to her dresser and started to pack up her things. Zim waited patiently on her bed, his legs crossed and his hands on his ankles. GIR slouched casually beside him.

"I'mma miss Mimi." GIR said, "She was smart."

"I know, GIR, Tak and Mimi both will be sorely missed."

Gaz straitened up for a minute, "She isn't coming back, is she?"

"She left in a ship that can't clear the atmosphere. What ever happens, she's on this planet."

"I say we should go look for her."

"Strangely caring of you."

"It's _my_ fault she's here, right?" Gaz demanded, folding up a pair of jeans, "I mean, if I really do have powers—"

"Gaz, listen to yourself! That's highly unlikely."

"But Tak's not stupid, right? She had to have some reason so suspect... Oh, what ever! I mean, _her_ being on her own is like_ you_ being on your own all over again."

"Dib seems to think she will come back."

"Well, that's what _Dib_ thinks, you and I both know he's a graceless idiot. And sometimes I think you're no better, you know. You know something and you're not telling me."

"Gaz—"

"I have ways of making you talk."

"I don't doubt it for a second." Zim got to his feet, "You have a right to know, anyway, he's your brother, after all. He plans to leave."

"What?" She walked on her knees over to the bed and reached under it to pull out a purple duffle bag, which she unzipped and stuffed her clothes into it. "He's going _after her_?"

"Terribly foolish, right? They'll find his body in some international dumpster and they won't be able to catch Tak because she'll just whip up a different hologram in every city. Trust me, any worry about her is wasted. She's an Irken, blending in and watching her own back is in her blood."

Zim was going to say something insulting, but Dib had climbed up the stairs and was standing in Gaz's doorway. She stopped midway while putting her makeup into a side pocket to look at him, "Is what Zim tells me true? You're leaving?"

Dib passed him a sharp glare for a moment, Zim smirked slightly, wondering now that he had let the cat out of the bag, Dib would deny him his room-mate privaledges. He did not. He looked back at Gaz and nodded, "Yes, I am."

"What are you going to do about money, huh?"

"I'm not sure yet."

"Well it looks like you're not as smart as you think you are. Dib, I don't want you to go."

"You don't care about me!"

Gaz opened her mouth to denounce this obvious untruth, but Dib held up his hand, "Look, Gaz, you don't want to stay here alone, do you? And Zim would have probably made the offer anyway, right? I don't want to stay here, I want to be with Tak. Let's ignore what's practical for a moment and just do what we want."

"What about school?" Zim asked, "Your education?"

He did not answer, exactly. He turned around and slammed the door behind him, he walked down the stairs again and they heard a phone dialing. Zim listened intenetly for a moment, trying to hear what he was saying or who he was talking to, but he walked into the garage and the sound was cut from a barely-audible murmer to complete silence. Gaz stood there for a second, seriously considering staying, then she frowned angrily and said, "If _he_ wants to shut me out. Fine. I'll be shut out. Come on, Zim."

"Are you sure?"

She did not answre, either. Like Dib, she just turned and walked though the door. He heard her storming down the stairs and shouting "BYE!" angrily as she slammed the front door, too.

"I don't think this is right, GIR."

"Iz thinks it a great idea!" his SIR unit replied happily, "Is gunna be fun with Gaz coming to live with us, masta, you'll see. Yous won't have to leave in the middle of the night anymore!"

"B-be quiet, GIR!"

* * *

I can't believe I'm doing this...


End file.
